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Re:CQ WW WPX RTTY 2008 - 2008/02/04 15:49
From Radio-Sport site:
RTTY Ops Eye More Broken Records in 2008 CQ WPX RTTY
By Jamie Dupree NS3T, radio-sport.net
After a series of records were broken in last year's CQ WPX RTTY contest, the logical question to ask is what will be shattered in 2008, as the growth in RTTY contests continues.
The defending champ is Ed Muns W0YK, who last year piloted P49X in Aruba and set a new Single Op High Power record to 9,981,738 points - 2.7 million more than the old record.
"Year by year, contest by contest, participation continues to grow at an amazing rate in RTTY contests," Muns told radio-sport.net. The three major RTTY contests (CQWW, CQWW WPX and RTTY RU) have all had record number of logs."
Last year in fact saw a 27% jump in the number of submitted logs for WPX RTTY.
"RTTY is very accessible without having to learn the code and is often more productive than phone in making QSOs from modest stations," Muns added.
More than ready for the WPX weekend is Tyler Stewart K3MM, who was the top scorer in both the US and North America in 2007.
"There are a few special considerations for RTTY WPX," Stewart told radio-sport.net. "Double points for 40 and 80 meter contacts, the 30 out of 48 hour time limit, and allowed spotting assistance for single-ops."
"With double points available on 40 and 80, you have to try and maximize your low band effort," said Stewart. "I will tolerate up to about a 40 percent slower rate on low bands versus high everything else being equal."
One op trying to chase down Stewart will be Dennis Egan W1UE, 6th in the world in 2007.
Operating this year from the station of K1TTT, Egan says his goals include "work Europe whenever possible" and "maximize rate."
"Europe has the easiest, faster 3 and 6 point QSO's available from my location," said Egan. As for maximizing his rate, "I can expect that every 3 QSO's will produce a multiplier. More Q's, more mults."
Like K3MM, Egan says one must take advantage of double points on the low bands as well.
"I've tailored my off times to expected lowest QSO rates and no propagation to Europe," said Egan.
One important thing to remember for single operators in WPX RTTY is that there is a 30-hour time limit. All off times must also be at least 60 minutes in length.
"With 18 hours of off-time required, it's very difficult to pick your off-periods," says Stewart K3MM.
"As an SO2R operator, you have to consider overall rate on both radios, so if there aren't 2 active bands during some period of time, that's when I'll be looking to take an off-time."
CQ Magazine reported that about 60 operators in 2007 exceeded 30 hours of operation. If that happens, then all contacts after the 30 hour limit will be deleted from your score.
Along with K3MM and W1UE, the call K4GMH of Mike Sims can be expected a lot in the pileups this weekend.
Sims finished 5th in the world last year, and along with W1UE, was one of only two operators to claim more than 2,000 contacts in the 2008 ARRL RTTY Roundup.
"The number of stations participating in RTTY contesting continues to grow," said Sims.
Sims says many of the "new calls are those of CW and SSB contesters trying out RTTY contesting and new amateurs exploring RTTY as a HF operation option."
When asked about RTTY contest growth, the theme from operators all over the world has been the advances in computer software that have allowed many more to get on the air.
"Technology has made it easy to get on RTTY," said Sims. Computers, sound cards and excellent free RTTY software are major factors in the increase in RTTY activity."
As for propagation this weekend, if it's anything like recent weeks, the high bands won't be as active.
"With relatively low SFI numbers, there is probably no good reason to even go to 10 meters," says Stewart K3MM, adding that "productive time on 15 will be limited."
"However, you will want to keep an eye on spots for single-banders, new mults, or the indication of a band-opening."
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